Sunday, March 24, 2013
The Board of Commissioners Friday reduces $329,000 from the operating budget and $900,000 from capital improvement projects after spending extra days looking for cuts.
The Nutley Board of Commissioners introduced a preliminary $50 million 2013 Municipal Budget Friday morning after trimming an additional $329,000 from operating expenses and nearly $1 million more from capital improvement projects. About 57 percent of properties assessed values stayed the same, but 43 percent lost value, so computing any average tax increase is not possible, Commissioner Thomas Evans said. Evans said the majority of the $629,000 increase in the operating budget came from increases in health care costs, while the second largest increase comes from money set for economic development projects. The total loss of assessed value was more than $100 million, or nearly 2.5 percent of the $3.41 billion in total property values, …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Board of Commissioners aims to cut a minimum of $180,000 before introducing the 2013 municipal budget Friday, and also vows to reduce capital improvement spending by $1 million.
The Nutley Board of Commissioners aim to slash the 2013 municipal budget by at least $180,000 and trim at least $1 million from capital improvement spending. The board is scheduled to introduce a budget of approximately $55 million at a special Friday morning continuance of Tuesday's meeting. The introduction and spending cuts are needed to meet the state-mandated deadline and to reduce the budget to less than a 2 percent increase, according to Commissioner Thomas Evans, director of the Department of Revenue and Finance. "I need you all to really look at all of your department budgets, and to cut as much out as you can, then give the numbers to my department by Thursday morning," Evans said. "We have to cut at least $180,000 to get our tax…
Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Board of Commissioners continue to explore ways to make Nutley more business friendly, this time focusing on restaurants with outdoor seating.
The Nutley Board of Commissioners talked more about how to make the township more business friendly last week. The board agreed in February to appoint members to an Economic Development Advisory Committee to entice businesses and families to come to the township. Discussions focused on encouraging outdoor seating at restaurants and more generally the board's ability to change existing regulations to favor business. Commissioner Thomas Evans was absent Tuesday but had told the board last month that residents with skills, experience and professional expertise will be asked to recommend ideas about the broader aspects of business and development in Nutley. The purpose of establishing the committee is to have a small, but inclusive group of …
Friday, March 8, 2013
The Board of Commissioners agrees Tuesday to increase costs per 1,000 cubic feet, increasing water bills an average of $48 a year.
Nutley property owners will see their water bills rise after the price was raised by officials Tuesday night. The Nutley Board of Commissioners passed an increase in water usage charges, from $35.98 per 1,000 cubic feet used by $4.50 to $40.48, Commissioner Joseph Scarpelli said. The average customer will see their bill go up about $48 per year, Scarpelli said. "We normally look at the rates every four to six years," he said. "We haven't changed the price in six years." From now on, water usage will be checked every year, said Scarpelli, director of the Department of Public Works, the department that oversees water meter reading. "By going through this every year, we all feel we will have better management of our water usage," he said. …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The township ramps up its SEEK program to pair gently-used gloves, bats and all things needed to parents for their children.
With sports equipment a big expense for so many families, Nutley is stepping up a program to help out parents. The township’s SEEK , or Sports Equipment Encourages Kid program, encourages residents to recycle “gently used” sports equipment for parents’ student athletes, according to Commissioner Mauro Tucci, director of the department of parks and recreation. Such equipment includes baseball gloves, bats, baseball pants, sliding shorts, cleats, soccer shorts, socks, shin guards, cleats, lacrosse sticks and many other types of equipment," he said. “All are available at no charge,” Tucci said. “We are looking to help parents supply the needed equipment to their children.” SEEK was started in 2012 by Nutley High student Isaac Lindenbaum. He…
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Board of Commissioners resolve to ask state legislators to push property tax relief act for towns that lose major corporate tax money
The Nutley Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night discussed a state legislative bill to help with a tax revenue shortfall caused by the departure of Hoffman LaRoche. The commissioners passed a resolution to support a state bill called "Corporate Disinvestment Property Tax Relief," and asked state Assemblymen Ralph Caputo and Ronald Rice to push the change that would benefit all township taxpayers, Commissioner Thomas Evans said. The resolutions states that the commissioners "are committed to protecting the taxpayers of the township from any undue financial burden arising from the Roche departure." "This would provide us with a temporary increase in state aid arising from the closure of Roche," Evans said. "It is meant to be temporary, …
Friday, January 4, 2013
Commissioners start discussion about everything from pensions, to employee salary contracts and employee dental benefits at the first public meeting of 2013 on Thursday night.
The first Board of Commissioners meeting of 2013 brought the first specific talk of the challenges coming in this year's municipal budget process in Nutley. Commissioner Thomas Evans began the discussion by telling the other commissioners that a temporary budget, representing a little more than 25 percent of the eventual 2013 municipal budget that gets passed, has to be introduced to meet state statutes. Last year's budget contained a small tax increase of less than $100 for a home assessed at the then-township average. "By our next meeting we need to start earnest discussions of the budget," Evans said. "We have to make sure we make it under the levy spending cap of 2.5 percent. We want to revisit this next time, and have conversations." …
Commissioners Mauro Tucci and Thomas Evans explain that the Internal Revenue Service requires that the Recreation Department pay coaches in different way.
The Nutley Recreation Department will now have to pay sports officials, score keepers, umpires and summer clinic instructors as hourly employees, replacing the existing voucher system. The change was explained by Commissioner Mauro Tucci at a special Thursday night meeting of the Board of Commissioners. Tucci said, "Our youngsters will now be paid at an hourly rate or a per diem fixed by an ordinance. I don't necessarily agree with this, but the IRS (federal Internal Revenue Service) has a regulation, and we have to comply." Tucci oversees the Department of Recreation. Commissioner Thomas Evans said, "We had a very spirited discussion about this, but we have to comply," Tucci and Evans said the regulation means that the people who work for…
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Board of Commissioners told that 2013 county Community Development Block Grants will be limited to funding road repairs and making buildings handicapped accessible.
Town officials are prioritizing what projects to apply to the county for block grant funds for 2013, but were told that the money would mainly be available to repair roads and make buildings and bathrooms handicapped accessible. The Board of Commissioners talked about county Community Development Block Grant funding at its most recent meeting Dec. 4. Kathy Rempusheski is a town employee who has overseen the CDBG funding applications for several years. Rempusheski told the commissioners, "CDBG will be limited to fixing roads and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements." The commissioners must pass a resolution with projects listed by priority to be submitted by Dec. 20, she said. "We can look at doing bathrooms, handicapped …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Commissioner announces that six job slots are available for up to six months and $12,000 as part of a $16 million state Hurricane Sandy employment relief funding.
The Nutley Board of Commissioners announced Tuesday night that the township has six slots available for jobs with the township that could last up to six months and will pay $12,000 for each of the positions. Commissioner Mauro Tucci said, "We have been given some help to put people in Nutley back to work." He said he received an alert on his phone from state officials that slots were being given for temporary employment in municipalities. "The officials said they would give us three," Tucci said. "I said that is okay, but six would be nice, and they agreed to give us six." The details on what the jobs will be is not yet available, he said. "This can really help, and we want residents to know they contact us about these slots," Tucci said. …
Lynn
11:36 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
How about alfresco rooftop dining? In my opinion, it would be safer and cleaner than sitting outside by the street where vehicles travel by with the risk of collisions into crowds and CO2 fumes... It would enable most places to reasonably renovate and double their dining space by safely adding a barrier wall or decorative fencing to the buildings' rooftops with stairs and/or elevator and provide … more ›